In this file photo taken on January 20, 2001, an unidentified leader of the Bangladesh Communist Party (BCP) shows a policeman (L) at the blast site of the bomb that went off during a BCP rally in Dhaka.

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AFP/Dhaka

A Bangladeshi court sentenced 10 militants to death Monday for the bombing at communist party rally two decades ago that killed five people.

In January 2001 several bombs were detonated in Dhaka at a meeting of the Communist Party of Bangladesh, and police blamed the country's branch of the banned Harkat-ul-Jihad al Islami (HUJI) after an investigation lasting several years.
The attack was one of several carried out by militant groups whose members were returning to Bangladesh from the Afghanistan conflict in the early 2000s.
On Monday, Dhaka city public prosecutor Abdullah Abu told AFP that 10 HUJI members had been convicted and sentenced to death.
"They carried out the bombing as part of their jihad to establish a militant government. They wanted to smear the image of the secular government and create anarchy," he said.
Two communist party members accused of involvement were acquitted.